Labour Uses Whips in Smacking Debate

So the Labourites are using the parlimentary version of corporal punishment by bringing out the party Whips to enforce the toeing of the party line on smacking. A few weeks ago we had Sue Bradford unjustifiably linking smacking to child abuse. Now we have Helen Clarke slandering opponents to the bill:

• First, she's suggesting that opponents to the bill are child abusers:

"Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday said some bill opponents were "demanding the right to be able to thrash and beat children" (NZ Herald, 28 March 2007)

That's not what the debate is about - I find it hard to understand where that statement and truth meet...

• Second she's falling back into her old habits in blaming it on the fundies:

"Helen Clark retaliated by attacking "extreme-right-wing fundamentalist groups" that she said were some of the bill's most vocal critics.

"New Zealand has it on its conscience that our rate of child death and injury from violence, including in the home, is appalling," she said.

"It is a stain on our international reputation, and I cannot see how those who are demanding the right to be able to thrash and beat children can possibly then turn around and confess concern about what is happening to our children."

Child death and injury from violence are not what opponents to the bill are seeking. To suggest otherwise is political posturing of the worst sort.

She confirms her consistent anti-Christian bias by labeling Christian opponents as fundamentalists. Its always a good idea to demonise the opposition (especially when they catch you out with previous inconsistent quotes).

Still the so-called fundamentalists are in good company in opposing the bill - 83% of New Zealanders if you believe the latest Colmar Brunton poll.

It's hysteria of the worst sort - lets hope Michael Cullen is right when he says:

"...hysteria would pass once people understood the bill properly"

Let's hope Helen was listening...

Helen Clarke exploring other forms of parental discipline

Fresh Elvis Sighting

Local newspapers are reporting a fresh sighting of Elvis in New Zealand. Recent sightings have been on the decrease and it had been feared that Elvis really was dead. However, there is new hope for the faithful - Elvis is alive and well in New Zealand. Internal Affairs spokeperson Dick Warr commented, "Its not clear whether "Elvis" has been here in New Zealand for a lengthy period of time or whether this is a flying visit. It is possible that he has assumed another identity and been in a longterm deepcover scenario."

Elvis is reported to be a little older and a little greyer but with the same trademark sweptback hairstyle and tumescent sideburns. Local residents are shocked. "I don't know what to think anymore", said one. Another remarked on a strange coincidence: Elvis Presley and National Superintendent Richard Waugh have never been seen together in the same room.

When asked for a comment, National Secretary of the WMCNZ Brett Jones said, "We're caught in a trap. Its a case of suspicious minds."

The 2 Year Old

Rhys turned 2 on the weekend. We had a small family party with a Curious George theme. He loves Curious George, although just lately the Wiggles seem to have moved up the pecking order. Its quite a laugh hearing him run through all the characters at high speed with his 2 year old "accent"! "Wagsadog, enryapuss (Henry the Octopus), dothyasaur (Dorothy the Dinosaur) etc

He is an adorable child - here are the official things I love about my boy age 2:

• He is SMART - he is creative and logical in his interaction and play


• He is FUNNY - a great sense of hunour and a real show-off


• He is LOVING - lots of nice hugs and kisses


• He is ADVENTUROUS - fearless in bodyslamming Daddy and climbing anything


• He is ARTISTIC - loves drawing, painting, dancing and playing music


• He is an early PRAY-ER - the things he thanks God for are hilarious - last week it was an elephant he saw at the zoo - he most often prays for Isabella and Hannah - and for the new baby


• He loves to READ - can't get enough of them books!


• He is a great CONVERSATIONALIST - sometimes I have no idea what he's talking about but we have these wonderfully animated conversations


• He is STROPPY - his timeout corner is wearing thin on the carpet - but it shows an independent spirit ;)

I could go on - I already have...

Anyways, we put some photos up which you can access from the Jonescam link on the sidebar.

Sin: Questioning the Original

So Pastor Rhett has been blogging like a madman (the technical phrase is "blogging like a fritchie") over at Rhettspect Along the way the question of original sin came up. Its a subject I've had some interest in since I did a Wesleyan holiness paper a few years back.

What struck me then was the way in which the vast majority of popular theology was rooted in a concept of original sin formulated by a depraved, sexual pervert who went by the name Augustine. Alright so I'm exaggerating, but Augustine (who was a pretty heavy hitter in matters theological) basically overlaid a neo-Platonist gloss on the Judeo-Christian understanding of creation - remember Genesis 1:31? Creation wasn't just good (Gen 1:12) it was VERY good. For Plato, evil was a distortion of being and the body an example of that evil, particularly in its sensuality. Its the Greek stuff that taints the deal here with its dualistic approach to life, the universe and everything - spirit is good; creation is evil. Augustine's big idea was that the passion which accompanies sexual intercourse is the continuing source of sinful pride and depravity in our lives. This condition originated with the sin of Adam and Eve and was passed on to all their descendants with the result that we are all now born in a state of moral depravity or corruption. Now, this makes no sense to me unless they ate the fruit of the tree after a particularly exhausting bout of "oneness"!

So we're all corrupt in our deepest nature. Which is why we sin. Its an inherited moral condition. Which is why this concept of original sin is objectionable. The essence of living in a universe characterised by free will is that we get to be corrupted by our own moral choices rather than the choices of others.

On the other side of the equation is Arminius (phrases like Arminian theology or the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition pick up his name). Arminius defined original sin differently - he saw it less as the presence of corruption as the absence of righteousness:

This was the reason why all men, who were to be propagated from them in a natural way, became . . . devoid [vacui] of this gift of the Holy Spirit or original righteousness. This punishment usually receives the appellation of "a privation of the image of God," and "original sin."

I suppose the withdrawal of Adam and Eve from Eden and God's perpetual presence is consistent with this idea of lack of access to the Holy Spirit. So for Arminius you don't need to be corrupt to sin you just need to lack righteousness and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

This is not a moral definition of original sin. Its more relational ie absence of Holy Spirit and maybe ethical - an inability to choose right consistently.

John Wesley (the founder of the faith stream in which I bathe) finds himself in something of a half way house on this issue. He doesn't go for Augustine's corruption view but he doesn't go as far as Arminius either. The idea that I was introduced to at the lecture was Wesley's understanding of original sin as self-love. So this is a more relational understanding of original sin (its also consistent with Wesley's most enduring thoughts on holiness: that it is essentially a mature love for God and others).

The essence of my fallen human nature is fractured relationship with God and a tendency to choose in my own interests rather than God's. Its not that I am this worthless being with an essentially corrupt nature, albeit that my need of Christ is no less acute because of it.

Which makes sense if you think about the conditions in Eden - God creates a sentient being (with an awareness of self) - this is evidenced by Adam's naming of the animals (can you name anything if you don't have self-awareness?) God also creates Adam with a capacity to love - that being most of the point of the exercise - love being the highest exercise of free will. There is also a clear sense that the first humans enjoyed good things, appreciated beauty and possessed intellectual curiousity (Genesis 3:6) So the choice is laid bare: I can choose to love myself ahead of God if I perceive the payoff to be acceptable. And with a less than perfect appreciation of the benefits, sin happens.

Betting on the Beast

With Rhett raising questions about revelation and end time theology, it may just be a coincidence. Or could it be more than that...

Am I the only one who noticed something very sinister in the news this week?

Helen Clarke went to the Auckland Cup this week and picked the winner. No, this is not some tirade against the PM having a gambling addition or modelling an inappropriate form of leisure to those living on the breadline in NZ.

Its darker even than that. Her winnings totalled exactly $66.60. Coincidence or sinister harbinger?

You be the judge.

Smacking? There's worse...

I'm always amazed at the kinds of debates that rage over issues such as smacking. 2 points of view with so many (and arcane) underlying motivations.

My stance on the issue actually differs somewhat depending on which way I look at the issue. I am not a practitioner of smacking - especially for discipline - but I will smack (one, short, sharp) in situations of danger where Rhys is unresponsive. I'm not trying to rescue him, I am simulating the shock response he would have had had I not intervened - substituting a controlled "danger" for danger that might actually do harm. I'm trying to protect him from immediate consequences without him missing out on the lesson that consequences teaches. I think of it a little like the kind person that helps the butterfly escape its cocoon and in doing so deprives it of the critical development opportunity it needed in doing that task itself. Butterflies that don't get out on their own, can't fly. I know its not a perfect analogy but you get my point.

But fundamentally and personally I am anti-smacking for disciplinary reasons. I think consequences of wrongdoing can be brought home in other ways.

However, I support the right of parents to work this out as much as I support the resourcing of alternatives eg timeout etc.

All this to say: Sue Bradford's straw baby "smacking is assault" claim doesn't hold water. Assault is wilful (or perhaps reckless) harm. Smacking may or may not be assault by that definition.

Where I become offended is when the rhetoric exceeds the issues. The Sue Bradford approach links NZ's record on child abuse to smacking. It's a view that's not sustainable, nor is it supported by the Unicef reports or recent years. The Unicef report DOES pinpoint drinking, which is why of course we lowered the drinking age. It DOES pinpoint drug taking which is why we are one of the softest countries out there on drugs and ignore party drugs. It does pinpoint poverty which is why John Key gets mocked for political profit when he raises the issue of hungry children in our schools (and I am not a National supporter OK?)

One thing not often mentioned, that I think is the cause of massive rates of child abuse, is NZ's lax legislation on abortion. We have pretty liberal laws in this area and appallingly liberal practice. Officially you can get an abortion in NZ:

> to save the life of the woman
> to preserve the physical health of the woman
> to preserve the mental health of the woman
> foetal impairment
> in cases of rape or incest

Practically its much easier.

The Abortion Supervisory Committee collects statistics on the numbers of terminations performed each year, and for what reason under the terms of the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977. There were 17,530 abortions performed in New Zealand in 2005, compared with 18,210 in 2004 and 18,510 in 2003. As the annual statistics for the Abortion Supervisory Committee have repeatedly noted, mental health grounds are the predominant grounds for most certified abortions in New Zealand. In any year, 98–99 percent of all abortions are performed because of serious danger to the mental health of the woman. I find it hard to believe that so many women are in such serious danger that it justifies killing a child.

That's 50,000 plus children killed in 3 years. This compare to the Family First's reported cases were a parent has got off an smacking assault charge by reference to the "reasonable force" defence: 16 cases.

Makes you wonder whether the maypole dancers are missing the point (again).

Aussie Bashing

Does it get any better? A blackwash against the Aussies! For those that want to point to an undergunned Aussie team - they managed 2 scores in excess of 300 and both times we chased them down. Its batsmen they've rested (Ponting, Gilchrist, Clarke), not bowlers - OK so Brett Lee was out invalided out before a ball was bowled and today McGrath didn't play but Bond and Vettori were also rested today and Mills is gone with an injury.

The reality is: the Aussie attack is not the same without Shane Warne and with an aging Glen McGrath playing inconsistently. They'll come again, don't worry about that - but for now, its 3-0...go home...

Some kudos for Bracewell: he picked Taylor and Fulton consistently and they are flourishing. He brought McMillan back from the death - he just played his best one day innings for NZ. And give him credit, he hasn't always seen eye to eye with Lou Vincent, but he knew when to bring him back once Astle retired. With its team rested and fit for the world cup, I give NZ an outside chance.

My tip? Sri Lanka.

The Muse

So I decided I needed an identity for my scriptwriting work and maybe even extending it to other copywriting and consulting:

In Greek mythology the muses were the nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus, each of whom presided over a different art or science. The idea of a muse as a "source of inspiration" flows from this. So MUSE will take the raw materials of an organisation, product, website, video idea etc and provide the "inspiration" - mostly the wordsmithing I'm guessing, but maybe also the consulting edge. It may go nowhere, but it would be a preferred way of doing the bi-vocational thing than taking another job.

(Thanks to Rhett for the font...)

From Nightmare to Dream

It's been a tough week. I decided to check in with my old boss last week, with an eye to a possible future that has me back in bi-vocational land. Within 90 seconds I'd been offered a 2 week (full time) contract. I decided to take it and drop the church work back to half time. They were desperate and so it seemed like the right thing to do. The plan is that it will mean there is more money in the church bank account as a result when I really need to be a one-job man ie when the baby arrives June/July. Anyways, I enjoyed the teaching and the people, but its been one of those express train weeks which I remember with so much fondness from the early days of cessioncommunity (not). Lots of late nights catching up on emails and the things that won't wait.

It was capped off by a strategic planning day which I'd agreed to do for Auckland Habitat affiliate, before the job rearrangement. Can I say with passion, it was the last thing I wanted to do! I was knackered, missing my family and frankly feeling like I would be thoroughly out of depth working with a board of accountants, lawyers and other professionals, plus the office staff and building team supervisors. A truly disparate group and really too large.

But it went well. It was very taxing. But it still went well. So well, that the board chairman offered me another consulting role with another organisation (and he should have known better if I really did a crap job). It got me thinking afterwards about how I once held the dream of doing consulting for organisations - when I started the MBA it was one of those things I hoped would take me out of law. It kinda got lost in the whole "call to becoming a pastor" and I was OK with that. But for a long time, it was my dream and something that spurred me on during my MBA studies.

So while the week itself was a nightmare of sorts, there was something of a restoration of a dream that was a bit unexpected.

Branding the Church

Sunday night we began our DNA series - part of orienting the cessioncommunity around our Vision, Mission and Values as we kick off this new year.

It was fun - at one stage we used a clip from "The Corporation" to introduce the idea of the church as a brand. Interesting.

Anyways, we've been trying to do some branding through the local print media - just seeing how we go with it. Trying to do something very different to the standard advertising recitation of the consumer options...

Its been fun...who knows: it may even be effective!

Emerging Church Article

This interesting article by Scot McKnight on the emerging church is both affirming and challenging of the "movement". McKnight issues some great warnings - for example, he is clear on his convictions concerning the need for evangelism which some emerging people lose sight of in their desire to be inclusive. In similar vein, he points to the need for emerging Christians to maintain their missional and ecclesial focus alongside a social one. Maybe its just that I often agree with his views and find some emerging writers to have crossed the line into liberal heresy...

Holiday Reading

It's been an excellent season of holiday reading 2006-07 - plenty of variety within the admittedly narrow reading parameters in which I operate!

Destiny's Children - Stephen Baxter

I recently discovered this phenomenal Sci-Fi author via his book Evolution. Baxter writes within a strong evolutionary context which is consistently fascinating - for example across his works you'll find him asserting that human beings developed big brains because they needed the evolutionary advantage that social skills gave them in cooperative activity - physically they couldn't compete - so his real point is that humanity didn't survive because they had big brains - but rather that they developed big brains in order to survive. Not particularly new, until you find in later books he postulates some human societies (for example in closed Ark ships) where big brains become a liability and so evolution demands regression.

Anyway, I read the 3rd and 4th books in the Destiny's Children series. The 3rd book, Transcendent, was an interesting study on the human quest for redemption - following 2 parallel story lines - the first describing the tortured family life of a man who will in time save the world; the second telling the story of a young girl who participates in a future humanity's quest to redeem humanity's past by "witnessing" the pain of every human who has ever lived. Fascinating pretext - of course, she is watching the life of the man in storyline #1. Excellent series. 9/10.

Pride of Carthage - D A Durham

I enjoyed this compelling historical novel on the life of Hannibal Barca of Carthage (a city state in North Africa now part of Tunisia) - an inspired Carthaginian general who came within an inch of bringing Rome to its knees. The characterisation in this book is really first rate. Not only Hannibal but his family, others within his retinue and the Romans who opposed him. Reminded me how much I enjoy good quality historical fiction. 9/10.

Murder in La Mut - Raymond Feist and Joel Rosenberg

I quite like these Riftwar spinoffs, albeit that I am not a big fan of the collaborative writing ventures these celebrated authors use to spin out ta series! A fun book with a well constructed plot and likeable characters (always the key in these fantasy books). 7/10.

The Roses of Roazon - Cherith Baldry

There were aspects of the fantasy novel that I really enjoyed: the riches to rags to riches story of a relatively minor character, Bertrand; the messianic allusions surrounding the pacifist Duke Joscelin; the underlying spiritual themes - a spirituality of love and grace supplanting a harsh judgmentalism. In the end, it just went a bit far for me - especially, the homosexual love story! 6/10.

The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett

Supposedly this book is (a) A Disc World novel and (b) A Children's book. I can't agree with either proposition! For a start it doesn't read like a Disc World novel - Death doesn't even make a cameo appearance! Secondly, I would have thought it too advanced for a child! I did like it a lot - its a really subversive fairy tale about a young girl who becomes a witch with the aid of the "wee free men" who are super hilarious elves who speak in broad Scots accents and live for fighting, stealing and drinking (especially Sheep's linament). Quote of the book (which kinda illustrates the subversive nature of the work):

Miss Tick [Mystic...] sniffed. "You could say this advice is priceless," she said. "Are you listening?" "Yes," said Tiffany. "Good. Now...if you trust in yourself..." "Yes?" "...and believe in your dreams..." "Yes?" "...and follow your star..." Miss Tick went on. "Yes?" "...you'll still get beaten by people who spent their their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy. Good-bye."

Priceless indeed. Supposedly, its going to be made into a movie. It will be a lot of fun if it is. 8/10.

JPod - Douglas Coupland

I do like satire in small doses - and this is a great example. An hilarious read about a group of software engineers whose surnames all begin with J (a weird HR policy has made it so...). So much borax poked at so many institutions of modern (and particularly digital) society. The book is highly cynical, even for Coupland. In fact, its so cynical that he appears in the book! He doesn't save himself from self-criticism by characters that you've come to like despite the fact that they are miserable, unproductive losers. There are some really funny plotlines in this book - the militant lesbian who has an affair with the main character's mother and then converts midway through the book to the compliant, plastic surgery coveting, girlfriend of a Chinese smuggler/gangster/interior designer; the plot to sabotage a Playstation game with a homicidal Ronald MacDonald character; the asinine competitions the JPod have in the office when they get bored of real work (which is often) eg. writing EBay ads selling themselves (you get to read the ads...). 9/10.

So that's it - my holiday reading. A rewarding mix of my main reading fare - Sci Fi/Fantasy leavened with some well written satire and historic fiction. All available from the library!

Sport of Kings

How much difference can one man make? If you're Ricki Herbert quite a lot it seems. The Football Kingz down and out (you knew it from the start when they added the onanic "z" to their name) with 4 games to go. Then the worst happens and the franchise falls apart and the coach goes down with the ship. Helter skelter negotiations just to see if a team can be put on the field. And what happens? In comes national coach Ricki Herbert and 4 games later its 3 wins and 1 draw from the last 4 games and a creditable last, just one point behind the next best.



I've been making a difference myself this week with a new sport:

At first glance you might think its tennis. And I suppose it is of a sort - there's just no tennis ball required. I like to think of it as big game hunting - the bigger the quarry, the more satisfying the result. But this is no ordinary tennis racquet. For a start its battery powered - just 2 AA's to open a whole new vista of sporting opportunity. Then there's the strings - except they're not really strings at all - more like a metal lattice - a finely woven metallic crochet with a simple lattice on either side. I suppose you could hit a ball with it but it has a deeper, more primal use.

The racquet is activated by a small switch on the handle which sends an electrical current into the inner most web of metallic strands...and you're ready to serve and volley...backhand or cross court and most importantly the FLY ball...

Welcome to the 21st century fly swat! The unsuspecting fly is approached carefully with the racquet extended - too late it tries to fly away, straight into the waiting mini forcefield. A satisfying crack (rather like the retort of a cap gun) signals success. If you're swatting at night, the sound FX are enhanced by a blue electrical spark. Does it get any better? All for $9.99 (batteries not included)

Ah truly the sport of kings...the king of the flies...

Summer Hols!

This Christmas the Jones family did something different: we went camping! Some scoffed at the wisdom of camping with a soon-to-be-two-year-old; others wondered at the fortitude of the wife for such activities (especially in her "condition"). But the pioneering spirit of the Jones forebears won through and a great time was had by all...

We headed north to Matauri Bay on the east coast, north of Keri Keri, on 29 December 2006. The trip wasn't too bad despite holiday delays around the small towns on the way up - the sooner the new highway is finished the better.

We arrived at the turnoff and began the descent to the coast - its a beautiful view with the Cavalli Islands in the background.

Its here you'll find the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior - the final resting place of the Greenpeace boat bombed by terrorists authorised by the French government.

Our campsite was right at the foot of this hill - on top is the Rainbow Warrior memorial with a map directing you out into the Cavalli Islands.

As you can see, the weather was idyllic and our 2 tent complex was nice and cosy in the summer heat. We had 2 tents: one for sleeping; the other for food and essential equipment like large blow-up dolphins.

Rhys did so well in his new environment. He loved the beach - building sandcastles and enjoying wave jumping with Daddy! Now when we go near a beach he yells "beach" or something close to it. Pretty much it was business as usual for the little man (and his Mama).

Rhys was a little hard to keep track of! He loved playing with the kids in nearby tents who were all a bit big for him. Often he'd be spotted heading off to the other side of the camp - when asked for his destination he'd say "Hannah" or words to that effect. Yes he was keen to spend time with his friends Isabella and Hannah Dunn. It has to be said his parents were also quite content spending time with the Dunns (Reuben and Vania) as well (using their BBQ and sharing illicit contraband smuggled north). Old friends Gary and Charmayne Johnstone were also there (Vania's parents). A highlight was the Tuatua sandwiches cooked straight off the beach! Here's Isabella feeding her aged grandfather who seems to have lost the power of feeding himself:

All in all, a wonderful time away - a very refreshing 5 days of sun, sea, sandcastles, shellfish, friends and learning to be a family.

Sweet Jesus

You've heard the saying concerning working with children and animals? Add to that electric appliances...Sunday night, it being the finale to our Great Expectations series, I decided to add to the anticipation of Communion by cooking bread live in the service. I have done this before with great success...not this time! When the moment came and I lifted the lid of the breadmaker I was greeted with something that looked only a little like bread.

So, I tipped off one of our resourceful people to go see what she could find...there'd be bread in the kitchen...a cake maybe? No. Just chocolate. Lots of it. Dark. White. In Christmas shapes.

So we consumed the sweet body of Jesus Christ, not to be confused with sweet breads...it was quite a moment! I guess I shouldn't have preached from Acts 8:28

Still with 3 seekers there, 2 of whom accepted the invitation to take communion, I'm not complaining - we even had a first timer pray aloud, go figure?